Separated
by YamiEmmy
Summary: Youko and Shuuichi have been arguing constantly for the past few days. The arguing finally stops when Youko decides to leave the body of Kurama. KH later on. Rated for Language and more later on.
1. Chapter 1

Well, did this border work? I hope so. I didn't like writing BORDERBORDERBORDER as a border. You want to know what's worse? I can't put in my smiley faces anymore!!! See!? (If it worked, I'm going to feel really stupid.)

WARNING: This has been rated for language. And this is a Yaoi story. That's right, K/H. Not at first, but later on it will be. Well, you can tell from the first paragraph that Kurama loves Hiei, but . . .

DISCLAIMER: I own nothing, not even the clothes on my back. Wait, yeah I do.

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Kurama sat at his open window, looking out at what seemed like nothing. While it was true you could see a magnificent sunset from his current position, Kurama had no interest in it. His mind was on a certain fire demon.

The shade of the setting sun turned blood red, fiercely reminding the kitsune of Hiei's red eyes. His red eyes were one of the fire demon's most beautiful qualities. Kurama loved those eyes.

As the sun continued to set, the sky turned into a dark blue, once again reminding Kurama of Hiei. Most people thought that Hiei's hair was black, but Kurama knew better. His fire demon's hair was a shade of blue, barely distinguishable from black. Kurama had spent a great deal of time studying Hiei's appearance, and had noticed this small detail months ago.

There was little about Hiei that Kurama didn't know. But one of these things that he didn't know was, did he feel the same for Kurama as Kurama felt for him?

This was the million-dollar question.

Kurama knew very well that his past would one day come back to haunt him, but he never once thought it would come back like this.

Kurama was once a very active fox, and he had had more bed partners in five weeks than most people had in five years. How was he supposed to get Hiei to believe him when he said he loved him, when he had used that very line to seduce countless others in the past?

"_Don't try to seduce him,"_ Youko advised. "_Just pull him to the bed and show him exactly what it's like to be with a fox."_

"_I can't do that to Hiei,"_ Shuuichi replied. _"I love Hiei. I don't want him to think he's just like every other demon I . . . you slept with. He's special to me."_

"_You're too soft, Shuuichi,"_ Youko said. "_The best way to show him you love him-"_

"_No! That wouldn't be the best way!"_ Shuuichi mentally yelled. _"You should know how sensitive he is. You once teased him and he disappeared for two months without telling anyone! I don't want to hurt him."_

Youko let out a sigh. _"Fine. I give up. I'll just let you stay here, brooding quietly. It's what you're good at."_

With that, Youko fell quiet. "I hate it when he's right," Shuuichi whispered.

As of late, Shuuichi and Youko had been having many differences of opinion. Shuuichi was finding it more and more difficult to control the murderous fox while at school or while out with his friends.

He was constantly trying to refrain himself from killing the numerous girls who followed him like obedient slaves, and he even wanted to kill the teachers for praising him on such tedious things. So what if he could speak English fluently? The Makai language was a lot harder to speak. And Japanese wasn't the easiest language on earth, either.

Dear Inari, he wanted to strangle people sometimes. But then he would realize Youko was the one talking. Not him.

Kurama needed a vacation.

Hmm, a vacation at a hot spring, with a certain fire demon in the water next to him . . . maybe doing a bit more than simple relaxing . . .

Kurama quickly shook himself free from the fantasy. No matter how much he may have wanted to take a dip in a hot spring with Hiei, he still didn't know how Hiei felt about him.

"Damn him for being so vague!"

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Clear across the city, Hiei was sitting in a tree, looking at the very same sunset Kurama had been looking at.

And like Kurama, he was in his own inner turmoil.

He was as much in love with Kurama as Kurama was in love with him, but he knew very well of the fox's past. A creature like Kurama was too good for him. The Forbidden Child. All Hiei would be able to get out of the fox would be a pity screw. Nothing more.

Even though Hiei wouldn't entirely object to that . . .

But no. Kurama was too good for him. Someone like him didn't even deserve to call the fox a friend.

Hiei looked at the diminishing light. The sunset was beautiful, yes, but it was nothing compared to the beauty of his fox.

His fox? Where had that thought come from? Yes, Hiei wanted to tell Kurama that he loved him, but since he was so afraid of rejection that he kept quiet, he had no right to claim the fox as his. Even if he did only say that in the privacy of his own mind.

Hiei was perfectly content to watch Kurama from a distance, like he had been doing with his sister. Neither one knew the truth of how he felt for them. And Hiei would never tell either of them.

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"Shuuichi, wake up or you'll be late for school!" Shiori called from downstairs.

Kurama rolled over in bed, looked at the clock and groaned. "Seven thirty already?"

"Shuuichi!" his mother called again.

"I'm up!" he called back as loud as he could. His loudest only heard by his mother from the many years of practice.

Shiori chuckled quietly to herself as she started cooking breakfast for her son.

Kurama got out of bed and pulled his uniform out of his closet. "I hate pink," he muttered to himself as he laid his uniform neatly on his bed.

Stepping into the bathroom, Kurama took a moment to look at himself in the mirror. His hair was a mess, but other than that, Youko could find nothing to complain about.

Kurama turned the water on and stepped in. There was a slight ache in his lower back, right where his tail would be had he been in his true form. "Strange."

After his shower, Kurama pulled out his brush and started to brush out the tangles. "What?" he whispered. "My hair is longer than it was ten minutes ago."

Utterly confused, Kurama decided not to think about it. After all, it was only noticeable to him because Youko was so vain. There was no way any one else would notice the difference.

After Kurama had finished blow-drying his hair, he carefully placed all of his seeds into their rightful places. His hair may be longer than usual, but his seeds still had their places.

But this was still strange.

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Hiei was being very careful to mask his ki as he watched Kurama while he was on his way to school.

_Wait a minute, his hair is longer than it was yesterday!_ Hiei was sure it had been shorter by a full centimeter!

Hiei almost laughed at himself. A centimeter? How could he tell if something that insignificant was true? It was just a centimeter.

Hiei decided to leave when some of Kurama's fan club members joined him. Hiei had found it very hard to ignore the urge to kill the girls who stalked his fox.

Oh, man, there we go with the possessiveness again. He really needed to stop doing that.

Hiei had turned around to leave when a spike in Kurama's energy forced him to stay. Something wasn't right. Unless he was mistaken, Kurama was . . . angry. But at what? There's no way he could have sensed Hiei spying on him.

"So what do you say, Shuuichi? Want to go to a movie with us after school?" one of the girls asked him. "We're going to see that new comedy that came out last week."

"As tempting as that sounds," Kurama said, "I have other plans after school."

Hiei was sure he had just heard contempt in Kurama's voice, but it just didn't make any sense. Kurama had infinite patience. He would never loose his calm over a few girls. Youko would, yes, but not Kurama.

As soon as Hiei came to this conclusion, he noticed Kurama gently rub his lower back. Where Youko's tail would have been.

"This can't be good," Hiei whispered quietly before he left. He would be speaking to the fox later about this.

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Hiei wasn't the only one to notice the tone in Kurama's voice. Shuuichi noticed it as well.

"_Why are you getting so pissy with those girls?" _he asked Youko.

"_I don't want to go to any movie with _her_. That girl is a true stalker! I've seen thieves with less stalking ability than her!"_

Kurama rubbed his lower back again. The conversations he was having with himself were starting to give him a headache. Actually, the headache was on the top of his head.

Where his ears should be.

With this sudden realization, Kurama wasn't sure if going to school today would be the smartest choice.

He had two places on his body that were aching. One where his tail should be, the other where his ears should be. His hair was growing, presumably it would stop when it got to the same length as Youko's hair.

Kurama was transforming and he didn't know how to stop it!

"_I'm going to be free soon?"_ Youko thought to Shuuichi. "_I didn't think I would be able to get out any time soon. Thanks."_

"_I had nothing to do with this!"_ Shuuichi replied. "_If I had things my way, you would never be able to get out!"_

"_That's not very nice,"_ Youko said in a mock hurt voice. "_Especially after all the times I've saved you. Oh, that's it, isn't it? You don't want me to leave. You want to stay the one in control. You want me to help you, knowing that I don't have any need for your help. You wouldn't survive a week without me."_

"_I hate you, Youko! You're wrong about that! It's you who needed me!"_ Shuuichi yelled back. _"You wouldn't have survived if you hadn't found me, so you are in my debt!"_

"_Foolish boy,"_ Youko hissed. "_I may have been in Shiori's debt, but not anymore. I made you into the perfect son. She couldn't ask for anything more. All I have to do now is find out how to escape this shell and I'll be free!"_

"_You can't do that!"_

Kurama had a very large headache by the time he arrived at the school, and it was not from the pain of his ears trying to grow on the top oh his head.

"Shuuichi," Kaito said as he spotted the redhead. "Is something wrong? You look a little pale."

"Kaito, there is indeed something wrong," Kurama muttered quietly. "Youko is trying to get free."

Kaito would have had a look of pure terror if it wasn't for the fact that he was able to control his facial expressions. But the fact that he could control his expression couldn't hide the fear Kurama smelled.

"Youko's trying to get out?" he whispered. "You shouldn't be here if that's the case. Go see Master Genkai. Maybe she can help somehow."

"Yeah, and maybe I can help her find her grave. This is a little more serious than you may think. If Youko really does get out, then no one is safe. Youko doesn't really like any of the team. Well, he doesn't mind Hiei and Yusuke, but he can't stand you, or any of the others." Kurama was finding it harder to talk to Kaito. Youko's urge to get away from the boy was strong.

"Shuuichi?" Kaito asked in a worried voice. He had seen a look of condescension cross the redhead's face for a split second, and he was sure his eyes had been amber.

"You're right. I should leave. I'll go call my mother and tell her I'm ill." With that, Kurama walked into the nurse's office and asked to call his mother.

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"Shuuichi, if you were feeling ill this morning, you should have told me," Shiori said in a worried voice as she drove the car up the driveway.

"I know you worry about me, but I felt fine this morning," Kurama said.

"Well, go back to bed, Shuuichi. Hopefully you'll feel better when you wake up."

"Alright," Kurama said and went to his room. He heard his mother mutter worriedly about her son before she got back into her car and drove to work.

"Kurama," said Hiei from outside in the tree, making Kurama jump in surprise and almost making Youko attack.

"Hiei, don't _do_ that!"

"What's going on?" the short demon said.

"Youko's trying to get out," Kurama said in a quiet voice, still not happy that it was the truth.

"I am able to see that," Hiei deadpanned as he jumped into the room. "But why is this happening?"

"I don't know," Kurama said in a whisper, and Hiei was almost sure he could hear fear in Kurama's voice.

"Kurama?" Hiei wasn't sure if he had heard correctly or not. Kurama didn't know something?

"I don't know!" he yelled, and this time there was no mistaking the fear. His voice trembled with it. "I don't know why Youko is trying to get out, but what I do know is, if he gets out, I'll die! In the beginning, Youko needed me, but he doesn't anymore! And when he fought Karasu in the Dark Tournament, he gave all of my life energy! I'm only alive because he is."

Hiei's eyes were wide in surprise. He had never heard Kurama so upset. He desperately wanted to take the fox into his arms and let him cry out his fears, but that would have been suicide. Hiei had never seen the fox cry. He wasn't even sure if he could.

"Go ahead and laugh, Hiei, but the fact is, I'm scared. I don't want to die," he finished, returning to a quiet whisper.

"Maybe," Hiei started, "you will transform, but you won't be separated."

"No," Kurama said, still whispering. "He's found a way to get out completely. It's only a matter of time before I loose control. I'm just barely able to keep him locked inside right now."

Hiei was at a loss for words. While it was true that he had once felt Kurama would be better off in his true form, he had seen the way Kurama lived his life and knew that the fox liked his life the way it was now. And that was the Kurama that Hiei loved.

"How much longer until he breaks free?" Hiei whispered.

Kurama looked at Hiei with amber eyes. "Mere seconds."

A flash of silver light came from Kurama's body and swirled around him. The silver light turned into the shape of a fox and landed on the ground. As soon as the light landed, so did Kurama. The body of Shuuichi Minamino landed on the ground with a loud thump.

Would it be mean for me to leave it right here?

The fox transformed into Youko, who looked at the body of Shuuichi. "Hmm, I don't think it's fair for him to die," the fox said quietly. "After all, I am the one who needed him first." Youko stepped up to the lifeless form on the ground and kneeled next to him.

"What are you going to do?" Hiei asked.

"Give him a bit of my life energy," Youko answered simply. "I was living off of his life energy, now he can live off of mine."

Youko's hands started to glow slightly as he put them on Shuuichi's chest. The light moved from Youko to Shuuichi and Youko got up.

"Out of respect for him," Youko said, "I will let you go. But don't even think of following me, fire demon." With that said, Youko transformed into a small fox and jumped out the window.

Hiei looked out and saw him disappear behind a corner.

Looking back at Shuuichi, Hiei felt that the energy in the boy would indeed last him the rest of his human life, but he would never again be able to wield plants. He was only a normal human now.

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Well now. This was fun.

Ack! Dodges tomatoes, bricks, and anything else that was thrown.

Don't hurt me!!! Youko can't be _that_ hard to find. Right? . . . What have I gotten myself into?

Please don't kill me. I'll make this into a good story. I promise.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter two is here!!!

I know that you people think I'm being mean to Shuuichi, but the thing is . . . okay, yeah I am being mean. But it makes for a really good story. And I like it. A lot. Well, I don't like being mean, but the story is good, isn't it?

WARNING AND DISCLAIMER: It's in the first chapter. If you didn't see it, then I don't know what to tell you.

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"Finally, I'm free!" yelled Youko as he ran across the open fields of the Makai. He stopped at a field of flowers and rolled around in them. It had been so long since he was able to be himself. He had almost forgotten how much fun it was to be in the Makai.

It had taken Youko almost three hours to find a rift that would send him into the Makai, but playing in the flowers like this was well worth the wait.

Youko stopped as he heard the voices of a few girls nearby. He stood up, still in the form of a fox, and trotted over to them. They were very pretty, sisters if he wasn't mistaken. On a closer inspection he found that they were twins.

_Even better, _he thought with a grin.

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"Kurama!" Hiei said loudly, trying to get the fox to wake up.

Slowly, too slowly for Hiei's liking, his eyes opened. "Hi . . . ei?"

"Shh, stay quiet. You'll be just fine, Kurama, just fine," Hiei said, trying to calm the fox. Hiei could see that Kurama was still afraid.

"Hiei, I'm not Kurama any more. Now I'm just Shuuichi Minamino."

"No, I will find a way to drag Youko back here. I won't let you die like this, Kurama," Hiei insisted.

"No, Hiei. It's better this way. I was holding him back. He couldn't do what he wanted. He's happier like this," Shuuichi looked up at Hiei. "I can live the rest of my life as a normal human now."

"Is that really what you want?" Hiei whispered.

After a few moments of quiet contemplation he answered, "Yes. I no longer have to lie to my mother. I don't have to risk my life on stupid missions anymore. I don't have to risk her happiness."

"You will never be able to wield your plants. You will never be able to feel the flow of a plant's energy, nor the energy of anyone else. Are you sure you want this?" Hiei tried to convince Shuuichi.

". . . no. But it's not like I have much of a choice. He was nice enough to let me live. Now I get the chance to live the life I wanted to live while can live the life he wanted to live. I'm sure I'll miss him for a while, but I'll get over it." Shuuichi was almost convincing enough to fool Hiei, but almost didn't count.

"I'll bring him back to you, Kurama. I promise."

"Hiei," Shuuichi started to protest, but Hiei was already gone.

Shuuichi sat up in his bed and looked at the small rose bush that was on his desk. He tried to send some of his energy to it, but he couldn't. He tried to sense the energy of the plant, but he couldn't.

He knew that Hiei was right. He would not be able to wield his plants ever again if he was to stay like this.

Shuuichi slowly stood up, trying to see if he could walk yet. When he found that he could, he walked over to the mirror in the bathroom and started to slowly take out the seeds that were in his hair.

Without his power, there was no need for seeds.

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"Urameshi, I think we need to check on Kurama," Kuwabara said in a worried voice. "I got a bad feeling about him."

"Kuwabara, you're just being paranoid," Yusuke said, trying to dissolve the tension.

"Well, if you're not going to come with me, then I'll just have to tell Keiko where your new hiding place is!" Kuwabara threatened.

"What?! You wouldn't."

"Come with me! I know you're worried about him too," he tried to convince.

"Fine, I'll go. But only because you threatened to tell Keiko!" Yusuke said. "Damn him for knowing my weakness," Yusuke muttered.

The two started out going to Kurama's school, but Kuwabara suddenly stopped and then started to go in the direction of his house.

"Hey, idiot, his school is over there! You know Kurama never skips school," Yusuke said.

"Yeah, but he's not there. I sense him over here. Weird."

"So you mean to say that Kurama, our Kurama, the redhead Kurama, is skipping school? Okay, that's it. I better start praying, the end of the world is near," Yusuke joked.

The two walked on to Kurama's house and when they got there, they were once again confused.

"You said Kurama was here," Yusuke accused. "But I don't sense his youki anywhere. Are you sure he's here?"

"Yeah, this is his house, and I can just barely sense him in here. It's weird, I could sense him better when we were far away, but now . . ."

"Well, one way to find out," Yusuke said as he walked to the front door and rang the bell.

A few moments passed and the two were about to go when the door opened. "Yusuke? Kuwabara? What are you doing here?" Shuuichi asked.

Yusuke and Kuwabara stared at Kurama with wide eyes. "_Kurama?!_" they yelled.

Shuuichi sighed and opened the door further. "Come in, I think I have some things I need to tell you."

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"So you're saying you're not Kurama anymore?" Yusuke asked after Shuuichi had finished explaining the events that had occurred earlier in the morning.

"That's right. Now I'm just Shuuichi."

"The fox is gone?" Kuwabara asked.

"Yes, now I'm a normal human teenager," Shuuichi said.

"But, you're still Kurama to us," Yusuke said.

Shuuichi sighed loudly. "That's the thing!" he yelled. "No I'm not! Dammit, why won't you people understand this? Youko is gone! Gone! All of the power I once had is gone! My power was only borrowed power from him!" Shuuichi was yelling loudly, and was really scaring the two boys who were on the couch.

What really got Yusuke were the tears streaming down Shuuichi's face.

"Kur- I mean, Shuuichi, it's going to be okay," Yusuke tried to comfort the crying redhead.

"No, it's not! Hiei went after Youko, hell-bent on bringing him back. How can everything be okay?" Shuuichi was still crying, but continued anyway. "When he left, Youko said he'd let Hiei go out of respect for me, but if Hiei gets caught-"Shuuichi stopped talking, since he was crying too hard to talk.

"Hey, it's okay, Shuuichi," Yusuke had gotten up and was now hugging the boy tightly as he continued to cry. "If you want, I can go after Hiei and get him to come back. I'll try to make sure Youko doesn't kill him."

"You don't get it either," Shuuichi said quietly, his crying quieted. "Youko doesn't want to kill Hiei. He wants to make him his lover and start a huge crime spree."

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"Well, those twins were nice," Youko thought out loud. He looked to the two corpses on the ground. "Too bad they fought. I could have enjoyed them a bit more."

He transformed back into a fox and ran into the forest. _Shuuichi would have been yelling at me for hours for doing something like that,_ Youko thought to himself. _It sure is nice not to hear his constant nagging._

Youko stopped to look around. He remembered being in this area, about seventeen years ago. This is where the hunter shot him.

He looked back to where the rift he had come through was. That was the rift he had used to get to the human realm. All he had to do was go back through that rift and he would be able to go back to Shuuichi.

_No! What am I thinking!? I'm finally free. I don't want to go back._ Youko stubbornly turned back towards the forest, remembering that there was a town nearby. Time to get a little bit of revenge on the hunter.

But it would be easier if Hiei was here. He could track the hunter down in mere moments, Youko thought with a longing sigh. Why did I let him go again?

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"His lover?" Yusuke asked hesitantly. "I thought he was straight."

Shuuichi had calmed down so Yusuke released him. Shuuichi walked to the other couch. "No. Youko is bi. And I am too, thanks to him. While the two of us were one, I fell in love with Hiei. I never told him, of course. After all, Youko seduced many with those words. I didn't want Hiei to think I was just trying to seduce him."

Shuuichi sniffed a little. "It wasn't soon after that I got to thinking that I could escape the human realm with Hiei and pick up old habits. But I decided against that. I don't know why, but I did."

"Kurama, I mean, Shuuichi, you're really into guys? Hey, tell all your fan clubs that and they'll leave you alone!" Yusuke tried to lighten Shuuichi's mood.

"Heh, right. You're not up on the current teenage girl trend, are you?" Shuuichi asked.

"Uh, well, I'm on the latest Keiko trend. I know where she'll be and how to avoid her," Yusuke replied.

"Not for long, Urameshi," Kuwabara said, trying to join in on the conversation. "I'm going to tell Keiko everything!"

"Shut up, idiot! I'll beat you up later, right now, I'm worried about Kur- dammit, Shuuichi. You know what, Shuuichi, I don't really care what you think right now, I'm calling you Kurama."

"But I'm not-" Shuuichi started to say when Yusuke interrupted him.

"You look like him, and I can't sense a person's life energy too well, but I can tell that yours is the same as it's always been. Maybe a little less than before, but still the same. You are Kurama, and I'm going to call you Kurama."

"Fine," Shuuichi said. "I guess it'll be okay for a little while."

"You said that Hiei's going to come back here with Youko? Well, don't get too used to being a normal human. Hiei's not about to go back on his word. It may take him a while to get that fox back here, but I'm sure he'll do it." Yusuke said this with absolute confidence and Shuuichi couldn't help but believe him.

He really did miss Youko.

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"Damn that fox," Hiei quietly muttered. He had been trying to locate Youko's energy but all he found were the corpses of two girls. Hiei was sure that Youko must not have gotten the desired effect out of these two so he killed them.

Kurama wouldn't have done something like this. But then again, this isn't Kurama. This is Youko.

Hiei knew that the fox killed the girls; he could still sense Youko's energy in the vines he had used to kill them. _That fox is much more violent than I ever imagined Kurama could be,_ Hiei thought.

_Is this what would happen if I told him how I feel about him?_

No. This is not what would have happened if I had told Kurama. And I know it wouldn't be like this if I told Shuuichi. But Youko . . .

I have to find him, for Shuuichi. And for myself.

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When the town came into view, Youko was extremely startled. It was a lot bigger than it used to be. A lot bigger.

_Well, that's to be expected,_ he thought. _After all, a famous thief was "killed" near here._

Pulling the cloak of one of the twins closer around himself, he walked into the town. He knew that if he walked around in plain sight, everyone would recognize him as the famous thief.

And that was not on his list of things he wanted others to know.

Youko continued further into the town, looking for the bar that had once been in the town. It took him a while, but he did find the bar he was looking for.

Still wearing his cloak, Youko walked over to a table in the back, where it was the darkest. A waitress came over and he ordered a drink.

Now all he had to do was wait. He knew that in a town like this, news about the hunter would be plentiful. But if no one asked, then he would have to do the honors himself.

He wasn't looking forward to that.

Nearly three hours had passed, and Youko had just about given up hoping that anyone would ask about his hunter. Just as he was about to ask some one, a group of what were obviously tourists walked in.

Youko's luck had just gone up.

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Shuuichi was still in bed when his mother came home. He tried to act as if his headache was still there, but mother's intuition told Shiori that the headache wasn't what was bothering her son.

She walked into the room and sat on her son's bed. "Shuuichi, what's wrong? It's not the headache anymore, is it?" Shiori asked in a tone that showed it wasn't a question.

"No, it's something else, but I can't tell you," Shuuichi said quietly. He wanted to tell his mother what the problem was, but what if Hiei really did bring Youko back?_ He would be so mad that I shared his secret. _Shuuichi thought. _ I can't betray Youko, even if he did leave me._

"Shuuichi?" Shiori asked. "Why can't you tell me?"

"It's about a friend of mine," he answered cautiously, knowing that his mother would think that his friend was harmful to themselves, but he didn't know what else to say.

He didn't want to lie to his mother anymore, and even if he did, he wasn't Youko anymore. He couldn't do it.

"Is it that little guy? Hiei?" Shiori asked.

"No, Hiei's trying to help out, but I don't think he can do anything," Shuuichi whispered. "Youko's not going to want to relent."

"Youko? Who's that? You haven't introduced us yet," Shiori said politely.

_Damn, she wasn't supposed to hear that, _Shuuichi thought to himself. _Now what am I going to do?_

"It's not something I can talk about," Shuuichi tried to get his mother to understand. "Youko likes his privacy. He wouldn't be happy if I told you anything about him."

Shiori didn't know what to say to this. This Youko person was making her son sad, and there wasn't anything she could do to help. "Shuuichi, how would he know?" she said, trying to convince her son to tell her.

"He wouldn't know, not until he came back. If he comes back."

"Comes back? Did he run away from home?" Shiori asked, playing the concerned mother part perfectly. "Do you know where he went?"

Shuuichi just chuckled quietly. "Yeah, I guess you could say he ran away from home, but to be honest, almost nobody even knew he was there. And those who did know didn't pay him any attention. He didn't like that all too much."

"Oh, poor boy. You should have brought him here, I would have loved to meet him."

Tears started to gather in Shuuichi's eyes. "I wish he would come back," he said, starting to cry. "I really miss him. I was one of the few who paid him any attention."

Shiori gathered her son into a hug, letting him cry. The way he was acting about a friend being gone, he was acting as if this was his lover. _Is Shuuichi gay?_ Shiori thought to herself. _Well, if he is, that only means I can rule out grandchildren. _She looked at her son who was still crying._ But that's okay, as long as my Shuuichi is happy, that's all that matters._

Shiori let her boy cry for what seemed like hours. All of the tears that he had saved up his entire sixteen years of life just started flowing. Youko wasn't here to stop the tears anymore, so they just fell.

Shuuichi cried for the first time without worrying what anybody else thought of him. He cried just to prove he could, just to prove that he had feelings, too. He also cried for the loss of his plants, the loss of all his keen senses.

The loss of everything he had with Youko.

Shuuichi was lost without Youko. And he was scared. He had never lived without the fox, and he wasn't sure he really could. He knew that, technically, he could live. But the question was, would he live?

Without Youko, Shuuichi wasn't sure if life was really worth it.

Without Youko, there was no way he would be able to fight. Youko's instincts were always what took over when he fought. The first time he pulled out his rose whip as a human, it was Youko who used his energy to manipulate the plant. It was Youko who dodged all of the attacks that came at him. It was Youko . . .

It was Youko who took care of him his entire life.

Without him, Shuuichi really was just a normal human. And he really didn't want to be a normal human if it meant the loss of Youko.

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WOW. This is the second chapter. I finished the first two chapters in less than three days. Little more than a day per chapter.

Please don't hurt me. I know I'm being mean to Shuuichi, but bear with me. He just lost his Youko. Wouldn't you be sad too?


	3. Chapter 3

Oh, yeah, this is the good life. I have the third chapter done. Did you people know that all of these chapters are 2500 words or more? Normally my chapters are only a little over 1200 words.

I'm in heaven.

Oh, and by the way, I finished this chapter before I posted the first chapter, but I wanted to build anticipation for these chapters. But you know what? I'm bored of that. So I'm going to post it now.

WARNINGS AND DISCLAIMER: It's still in the first chapter. And there is a _little _bit of Youko and Shuuichi fluff at the end, but they both still want Hiei. Don't get confused.

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"He's gone?" Youko heard one of the tourists, a lady, ask. "But I wanted to meet the man who killed the Legendary Thief!" she whined.

"Well, let me give you some inside information," the bartender said to the lady. "He heard that Youko ain't dead. So he went off to the human realm to kill him for real this time."

_Shuuichi! He's in trouble!_ Youko thought.

"So, how's the hunter going to find the fox? I've been told that if a fox doesn't want to be found, they won't be," she said.

"He was at the Dark Tournament," the bartender smugly informed. "He saw the disguise the fox wears. He'll get that Youko."

Youko stood up and walked toward the door, only to get stopped by the waitress. "You haven't paid for the drinks yet."

Youko glared at her and lowered his hood. "I think you want to let me pass," he said in a venomous voice. At once, all of the people in the bar looked at him and recognized who he was.

"Hey, aren't you The Legendary Bandit, Youko?" the female tourist asked.

Youko pulled out his rose whip and made short work of the bar and all of the customers.

He had to save Shuuichi and he didn't have time to deal with any crap.

--------------

Yusuke was worried about Shuuichi.

Yes, he was going to call him Shuuichi whenever he remembered. He would only call him Kurama when he forgot to call him Shuuichi. He wasn't going to correct himself.

But he didn't want Kurama to be Shuuichi. He wanted him to be Kurama. He knew he could trust Kurama to be at his back.

Shuuichi didn't even have the skills to do the flips that he had done as Kurama. He really was normal now.

"I'm worried about him," Kuwabara said, mirroring Yusuke's own thoughts. "Didn't it seem as if he was depressed?"

"Idiot!" Yusuke yelled as he hit Kuwabara. "Of course he was depressed! Did you see how hard he was crying? How can you be such an idiot?!"

"Hey, I'm not an idiot, I just-"Whatever he 'just' was cut off as Yusuke started to beat the crap out of him.

It seemed as if the two boys were fighting over simple things, Yusuke calling Kuwabara an idiot, but the reality was, they needed a reason to fight. Any reason would do. They couldn't fight Shuuichi's problem, but they could fight each other.

They just felt so helpless.

Yusuke had always been able to help Kurama in the past, but now . . .

He remembered the first time he had met the fox. He had been touched at how Kurama was willing to give his life for his human mother. And not wanting someone that kind to die, regardless of weather he was a demon or not, Yusuke gave half his life to help him.

Later, when he fought against Hiei, Kurama risked his own life to save Yusuke. Yusuke had called the fox a friend ever since.

In the Dark Tournament, when that Shinobi Bakken was beating the crap out of Kurama's unconscious form, Yusuke was able to stop Bakken. He was able to _do _something then.

But what could he do now? He couldn't help his friend when he was needed.

And so, Kuwabara and Yusuke fought, both venting their frustrations on each other.

--------------

While the two boys were in the Human Realm fighting, Hiei was in the Makai, trying to keep his sanity. Hiei still couldn't find that damn fox!

He had no idea where he could have gone, no idea where he might be going, and to make matters worse, Hiei had no idea where _he_ was.

Hiei was lost.

He knew he could easily find out where he was by using the Jagan, but at the moment, the Jagan was busy trying to locate the energy of the fox. All he got was a faint hint of power coming from the direction of a town, but by the time he got there, he found that the town was a small city, and the fox was long gone.

_Dammit! Where is that fox?!_

When Hiei got to the destroyed bar, he knew there was no way to get any information out of the people in it. Youko had killed them all.

On closer inspection, Hiei could tell that they were killed with the Rose Whip. The only attack that took so little energy it was almost undetectable. Hiei hadn't sensed it until the attack was about an hour old.

The fox could be anywhere by now!

_I promised Shuuichi I would bring Youko back to him,_ Hiei thought to himself. _I can't do that if I can't FIND THE DAMN FOX!_

Hiei walked around the town, trying to see what in it interested Youko so much. If he could find out what it was, maybe he could find out where the fox may be heading.

"Yeah, Youko Kurama was killed in this area," Hiei heard someone telling someone else.

_So that's why he was here,_ Hiei thought. _He wants to get revenge on the hunter. So all I have to do is find the hunter first._

--------------

Shuuichi didn't feel like going to school the next day, and Shiori wasn't going to press the matter. In fact, she wanted her son to stay home after he spent all that time crying last night. She was still worried about him.

Just like everyone else was.

After Shiori left the house for work, Shuuichi decided to take a shower. Just like always, he first checked his reflection in the bathroom mirror. Usually, Youko would complain about how messed up his hair was after sleeping all night, but today, Youko was silent.

_Of course he's silent,_ Shuuichi thought to himself. _He's not here._

After his shower, Shuuichi started to run his brush through his hair. He remembered that his hair was longer than usual yesterday morning, but today he couldn't see the difference. Once again, tears started to gather in his eyes, but this time he wiped them away.

What would Youko say if he saw him crying like this?

Shuuichi looked at the seeds that were still in a small container. That's where Youko put the seeds so they wouldn't dry out at night. Youko didn't need to put them in a container when he was in his true form, but while in Shuuichi's form, he couldn't send constant energy to them.

Shuuichi looked at the seeds again. The Death Plant was one of the seeds. And Shuuichi knew which one it was, too.

Even though he wasn't Youko anymore, he could still use the deadly plant on himself. Once planted in a person's blood, the Death Plant would grow uncontrollably. Only Youko would be able to control it.

But Youko wasn't here.

_This would be the perfect way to kill myself_, Shuuichi thought. _A small cut, put the seed inside, and let it grow. I'd be dead in less than an hour._

With his mind made up, Shuuichi picked up the seed and put it in his hair, right where Youko would have put it. He wouldn't kill himself in the house; Shiori didn't deserve to see that.

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Youko had just gotten back through the rift and was back in the Human Realm. He needed to get to Shuuichi before it was too late. The hunter wouldn't care that he wasn't Youko; he would kill him just for fun.

Just because he had once been Youko.

Youko, in his fox form, reached the house only to find Shuuichi had already left. _Dammit! Where is that boy when I need him?! _Youko went to the front door and instantly picked up his scent. Following the scent, Youko ran into the nearby woods.

_These woods aren't as nearby as they used to be,_ Youko thought. Everything seemed so far away now. It was taking too long to get to Shuuichi.

--------------

Shuuichi had reached the small river in the woods. He looked around quietly. It wasn't too far from here where he first met Yusuke. That brought a smile to Shuuichi's face.

One of his only real friends.

He really should have written a note to them, telling them why he was doing this. And then, what would Koenma and Botan say when they found him? No doubt Botan would be the one to escort him to Reikai.

Did he really want to do this? He knew that death wasn't really the end. He knew exactly where he was going to go. _All I want is to be with Youko again. If I can't have that, then I don't want to exist._

But he knew that they wouldn't grant that wish of his. Everyone liked him too much. But, hey, that's why he brought the Death Plant seed. Those killed by that plant didn't get a second chance at all. The plant destroyed the body as well as the soul.

That's why Youko liked it so much. And why Shuuichi was going to use it.

He sat at the edge of the river and pulled out his knife. It was little more than a Swiss Army knife Yusuke left at his house a few months earlier that he never got around to returning.

_Well, here goes nothing,_ he thought as he made a deep cut in his arm. Shuuichi pulled out the seed and gently shoved it into the cut. Instantly he could feel the plant growing.

It was growing faster than he had thought it would, but then he remembered that even though he didn't have Youko's power, he did share his Life Energy. That is what was feeding the plant, making it grow faster.

Shuuichi at first thought he would have an hour. But now he knew it would be more like thirty minutes.

--------------

Youko was still running as fast as he could, trying to catch Shuuichi. He could sense that the boy was dying, but from what? He couldn't feel the hunter's energy anywhere.

Mere seconds later, he came across Shuuichi. Instantly he recognized what was killing the boy and he stopped the plant's growth.

"I knew you wouldn't last a week without me, Shuuichi," Youko said concernedly. "But I thought you would last a little more than a day."

"You . . . ko? . . . You . . . came . . . back? . . . Why?" Shuuichi was able to say.

"Shut up, foolish boy. I came back for a reason, but not to take care of you," he snapped.

"Oh," Shuuichi whispered in a depressed voice. "Then stop trying to take out the plant," he demanded. "If you're not with me, then it's not worth living."

Youko looked at the boy lying in front of him. Youko had just barely started to extract the plant, and if he stopped right now, Shuuichi would be dead in less than a minute.

"Do you really want to die?" Youko asked him quietly.

"Yes," came the whispered response. "I feel so . . . incomplete . . . without you. Just let me die. Please."

The seed was trying to grow, but Youko wouldn't let it. He was trying to think. Did he really want to be separated from Shuuichi? It really was his fault that Shuuichi was trying to kill himself.

If Youko had just let himself die seventeen years ago, none of this would have happened to Shuuichi. He could have had a normal life. And normal friends.

He wouldn't have had to meet the Legendary Thief Youko Kurama.

But he also wouldn't have been able to save his mother. He wouldn't have been as smart as he is now. He wouldn't have . . . There was so much Shuuichi wouldn't have been able to do or be if it hadn't been for Youko.

Youko had made Shuuichi's life fun, even if it had been dangerous at times. Shuuichi liked the plants that Youko kept. Shuuichi liked to tend the garden; he liked the flowers.

He couldn't imagine how his life would have been like if Youko had never intervened. Youko was his best friend. He needed the fox. He really did.

And as much as Youko didn't want to admit it, he had noticed that without Shuuichi, he was more violent then he had ever been. Now that he knew what it was like to have the boy around, he knew that he needed to keep the boy.

"Shuuichi, would you still want to die if I said I'll return to you?" Youko asked quietly.

Shuuichi looked up at the face of the silver fox. "I need you, Youko. If you came back to me . . . no. I wouldn't want to die if you came back."

"Well, I have a few things I need to take care of first, but when I do come back, I expect you to still be among the living." With that said, Youko quickly took the Death Plant out of Shuuichi's body.

Able to move again and only in pain from the cut on his arm, Shuuichi asked Youko, "What is it that you need to take care of?"

"The hunter," was the curt reply Youko offered. "He's the reason I came back. I heard he found out that I was here in the Human Realm. He was also at the Dark Tournament, so he saw you. That's why I had to come back so quickly."

"To get him, or to protect me?" Shuuichi asked softly.

"Both."

Shuuichi looked at the fox that had been with him his entire life and smiled. He reached out and pulled Youko into a tight hug. "When you're done with the hunter, Hiei went into the Makai to find you. Do you think you could make a detour to bring him back?"

"You still love him?" Youko asked with a raised brow.

"Yes, and all thanks to you. You know it's your fault I'm in love with him." Shuuichi was in a much better mood than he had been in all week. Not only was he not fighting with Youko, but he also knew that the fox would be returning to him.

Youko knew what Shuuichi was going through. Even thought it was Shuuichi who had pulled him into the hug, it was Youko who refused to let go. He hadn't realized exactly how much he had cared about the boy until it was almost too late.

He had almost lost this boy for good.

"Shuuichi," Youko started, "I want you to stay with Yusuke for a while. Tell Shiori anything you have to, but I want you to stay with him. Or better yet, have him stay with you. I don't want to risk loosing you. That hunter knows his stuff, he was able to get me, and I don't-"

"Alright, don't worry about me," Shuuichi interrupted. "I'll be okay. Now that I know you'll be back, everything will be okay."

Youko slowly released Shuuichi. "I have the feeling that I should take back all the seeds you have in the house," Youko said in a joking tone, but they both knew he was serious.

"I promise I won't try anything like that again," Shuuichi said.

Youko looked at Shuuichi carefully for a few moments before nodding his head. "Fine, you can keep them. But keep all the Death Plant Seeds away from your cut," Youko advised. "If I come back to find you sprouting flowers as if you were a flowerpot, I will be very angry." They both knew that was an understatement. "Be careful, Shuuichi."

"I will. I'm starting to think you worry more than I do," Shuuichi joked.

"You have no power," the fox pointed out.

"I'll call Yusuke as soon as I get home. I'm sure he'll be glad for a reason to skip school, and Shiori . . . "Shuuichi stopped talking at the thought of Shiori. Now was the moment of truth. Would Youko be mad at him for telling Shiori about him?

"What about her?"

"Well, I kind of told her a little bit about you. I hope you're not angry; it just slipped out. I only told her that you were a friend of mine and that you ran away from home," he said quickly.

"If you really want to," Youko said after a few moments of consideration, "you can tell her all about me. I know you always hated lying to her."

"R-really?"

"Yeah, I don't like the idea of anyone else knowing about me, but I guess we do owe Shiori an explanation."

Shuuichi hugged Youko again and whispered quietly, knowing he would still hear him, "I'll wait until you come back to tell her everything. Will you help me tell her?"

"Yeah. I'll help. And I'll be back with Hiei, too."

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YAY!!! They got back together! Youko will be back soon, and with Hiei!! Isn't that good news?

Wait, he still has to catch the hunter. Oh no, I hope this doesn't get sad again!


End file.
